Fans, celebrities react to death of film critic Roger Ebert

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"Michelle and I are saddened to hear about the passing of Roger Ebert. For a generation of Americans - and especially Chicagoans - Roger was the movies. When he didn't like a film, he was honest; when he did, he was effusive - capturing the unique power of the movies to take us somewhere...

"Michelle and I are saddened to hear about the passing of Roger Ebert. For a generation of Americans - and especially Chicagoans - Roger was the movies. When he didn't like a film, he was honest; when he did, he was effusive - capturing the unique power of the movies to take us somewhere... (Getty Images)

"We became friends before we became television partners ... The guy you saw on TV, telling all those great stories, and having such great passion for movies and being so passionate about so many things, first and foremost his family ... That was the real Roger Ebert. What you saw is what you...

"We became friends before we became television partners ... The guy you saw on TV, telling all those great stories, and having such great passion for movies and being so passionate about so many things, first and foremost his family ... That was the real Roger Ebert. What you saw is what you... (Getty Images)

"Roger, I hope you're in an infinite movie palace, watching every film the great directors only dreamed of making," wrote comedian Patton Oswalt on Twitter moments after news of the 70-year-old's death broke. "By the way, Death's about to get a SUPER [crappy] review."

On his website Tuesday evening, Ebert said he was receiving radiation therapy to treat a hip fracture that had turned out to be cancerous. He said he planned to take a "leave of presence," continuing to write reviews but only selectively.

Roger Ebert gave independent films popular appeal, and his 'thumbs-up, thumbs-down' ratings on TV were both coveted and scorned. The prolific critic continued to write reviews while battling cancer in recent years. Read obituary

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